No one enjoys living a life in debt but everyone has to pay for college somehow. For many people, that means resorting to taking loans. Unfortunately, student loan debt is quickly becoming everyone’s problem as the workforce is expanding at a very swift rate and more and more people are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans each year upon graduating. With the nation’s total accumulation of student debt reaching above $1.5 trillion, it shouldn’t be long until government officials take note and bring about some form of change. However, in the meantime, here are some ways to get rid of your student loan debt without burning a hole in your pocket.

Find the Right Job

There are a ton of jobs out there that come with stipends and other incentives that go towards paying off your student loans. More particularly, the federal government does have a couple of programs that will give up to $75,000 to go towards paying off student loans in exchange for working three years in the health-care sector to mitigate the opioid epidemic. But what if you don't have a background in healthcare?

Don’t worry, there are plenty of other options that are broader. The most common option is to find the right job under an employer with a strong benefits package, or more specifically, one that offers student loan benefits. For many employees and even more employers, student loan benefits are a brand new concept that is actually one of the best benefits to have as of 2019. If you are an employee and you are struggling with student debt, ask your employer to look into providing student loan benefits because they can be very cost effective for a company as a whole. If you are an employer, you should ask your employees if they need student loan benefits because it could be the difference between keeping a top performing employee and spending a bunch of money looking for a replacement to fill the vacated position.

Volunteer

Can’t find a healthcare job or an employer with student loan benefits? Volunteer. There are organizations that will give monthly payouts to go towards your student loans in exchange for volunteering for nonprofits and other businesses. By supporting a local cause, you can kill two birds with one stone, helping out the community and paying off your student loans. Depending on the project, you can receive anywhere from $250 to $1000 a month for completing something that interests you.

Buy a New House

I know what you’re thinking - how are you supposed to buy a new house if you can’t even payoff your student loans? As crazy as it may sound, there are towns across the United States that are looking to draw in younger residents by offering various student loan repayment deals. Requirements vary from town to town but are usually pretty similar. Most programs will pay you up to $50,000 for buying a new house in their town within 5 years of graduating college, however, the catch is that you don’t receive the money until you have lived in the house for X number of years, usually ten to fifteen.